George Osborne said the GDP figures showed Britain was 'recovering and building an economy fit for the future'. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

George Osborne, the chancellor

Today's figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing. Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress. The deficit is down by a third, businesses have created over a million and a quarter new jobs and interest rates are at record lows. We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future.

Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor

These lacklustre figures show our economy is only just back to where it was six months ago and continue the picture of flatlining we have seen since the last spending review.

David Cameron and George Osborne have now given us the slowest recovery for over 100 years. This stagnation in our economy is the reason why people are worse off than when this government came to office. They took an economy that was starting to grow strongly, with falling unemployment and a falling deficit, and delivered stagnation, rising unemployment and £245bn more borrowing than planned.

Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister

That's a better number than I think many people had been anticipating, but it's one number for one quarter. We haven't triple-dipped, so that's obviously a welcome thing, but I don't want anyone to think that somehow we are out of the woods yet. We have still got a lot of work to do. The healing of the British economy is taking longer than we had anticipated and we will continue to work hard to make sure the country and the economy grow from strength to strength.

Vince Cable, the business secretary

We've always said the road to recovery would be a marathon, not a sprint. Today's figures are modestly encouraging and taken alongside other indicators, such as employment figures, suggest that things are going in the right direction.

However, there is still a long way to go and some serious issues such as the systemic lack of bank lending to SMEs, the weakness in the construction sector and the need to press further on trade and exports, which I am doing now on my visit to Brazil. These issues all need to be addressed before people feel like the economy is genuinely starting to recover.

Howard Archer, IHS Global Insight

While GDP growth of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter is a cause for minor celebration, it does not fundamentally alter the picture of an economy that is struggling to develop even moderate sustainable expansion. This is highlighted by the fact that GDP was still only up 0.6% year-on-year in the first quarter and it is still 2.6% below the peak level seen in the first quarter of 2008.

Indeed, the economy's struggle for growth is currently not being made any easier by the increased squeeze [on] consumers' purchasing power coming from higher inflation and very low earnings growth while global economic activity is showing signs of faltering.

We expect the economy to scratch out limited growth over the rest of the year, with GDP expansion seen limited to 0.8% during 2013 (we are raising this from 0.7% following the first quarter performance). Even this muted growth performance is vulnerable to events in the eurozone and slowing global growth, and it could also be pressurised if the labour market falters markedly.

Rob Carnell, analyst at ING Bank

This better UK data is "one in the eye" for the IMF, which recently and publicly criticised the UK government's deficit reduction approach and is also a thumb to the nose for the ratings agencies, which have largely blamed the UK's growth performance for recent downgrades. We do not expect this GDP result to let the Bank of England off the hook. There is clearly still work to be done. The economy's recovery path is still very shallow. But this release might delay any further increase in the asset purchase scheme, though we still expect more QE in the months ahead.

John Cridland, CBI director general

This is a welcome uptick which confirms our view that 2013 will see real growth. The broad-based pick-up in the services sector is an encouraging basis for further organic growth.

What Britain's economy now needs to see in the coming months is a recovery in manufacturing output, helped by a brighter global outlook. The government must build on these emerging signs of confidence by getting behind Britain's entrepreneurs and exporters.

Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business

We have to look at these figures positively – the facts are that the economy is now making progress. The spectre of a triple-dip recession is receding, and with the announcement on Funding for Lending yesterday, this is probably the most positive week for small business for quite some time.

If these figures can help convince both consumers and businesses that the UK has turned a corner, it paves the way for confidence to return and be a springboard for accelerated growth. This is the hope.

While the service sector looks to have led the way, the construction industry figure is more worrying, and shows the need to get projects moving at a quicker pace.

Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors

The GDP figures are good news just when we needed it. Despite the squeeze on real earnings and the negative impact on confidence from the euro crisis, money supply growth has picked up and with more money sloshing around there has been more growth. We shouldn't get too excited about 0.3% quarterly growth, but it does provide relief from all the doom and gloom.

Michael Izza, chief executive of the accountancy association ICAEW

News that the UK has avoided a triple-dip recession is in line with the ICAEW's own economic forecast, which predicted modest growth this year. The increase in GDP also supports ICAEW research that business confidence has risen notably in the first half of this year, which reflects the sentiments of businesses who are looking to prosper. The key now is to support and invest in these businesses to help them to achieve their growth aspirations and secure what is a slow and tentative recovery.

There are signs of life in the UK economy. However, the recent retail casualties tell us that responding to customer behaviour patterns will continue to be critical to surviving on the high street. Some retailers such as Asos and Sports Direct have had strong sales figures, proving that those who keep up with the latest shopping habits – such as online, click and collect and showrooming – will be well placed to ride out the tough economic climate.